Machine for making matches.



' No. 747,473 PATENTED DEC. 22, 1903.

y W. H; PARKER. MACHINE FOR MAKING MATCHES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10, 1902.

N0 MODEL. ZSHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 747,473. v PATENTED DEC. 22, 1903.

W. H. PARKER.

MACHINE FOR MAKING MATCHES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.10. 1902. H0 MODEL. Z'SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' 1 INVENTOR Q I ATTORNEY UNITED STATES Patented December 22, 1903.

l PATENT OFFIcE.

WILLIAM H. PARKER, OF PASSAIO, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE PARKER MATCH COMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

. MACHINE FOR MAKING MATCHES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 747,473, dated December 22, 1903.

Application filed November 10, 1902. Serial No. 130,646. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I,WILLIAM H. PARKER, of Passaic, Passaic county, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Making Matches, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention refers to a machine for cutting splints from strips of veneer, and more particularly from strips that have been prepared by a machine, as illustrated in my application filed October 24, 1902, Serial No..

128,540, and is designed to be a means of completing the process for making matches, as set forth in my Patent No. 704,091, of July 8, 1902.

As will be seen from the previous application and patent, a strip of veneer is notched on its opposed edges, so as to bring the projections formed between the notches on one edge opposite the notches on the other edge, and after these projections are dipped in composition to form the heads the strip is cut transversely into matches along lines that continue the edges of the projections across the strip. It isto out these strips into matches in this manner that this machine has been designed, and the feeding of the prepared veneer to the cutting mechanism forms an important element of the machine.

' A further object of the machine is to furnish a positive means of feeding the matches that have been out directly into the boxes and a device for feeding the trays to receive the matches sodelivered and convey the filled trays to one end of the machine, so that a continuous supply of trays can be maintained, inasmuch as the other end of the feeding mechanism is placed so that it can be conveniently fed with empty trays. 7

With these ends in view I have devised a machine, to be described and claimed hereinafter and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which similar letters and figures of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is aside view of the improved match-machine, and Fig. 2 is an is a view on line 4 5 in Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow y; and Fig. 5 is a view on the same line, but looking in the opposite direction, as indicated by arrow 00. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a plate used in the match-delivery apparatus, and Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a part of the feeding device. In Fig. 8 I have shown a machine the same as in the other views, but with a modified means of delivering-the matches to the boxes.

In the views thebase 10 supports two side plates 11, and these in turn hold a plate 11 on which is a standard-12,1anda driving-pulley 13 is adapted to be placed between the bearings 14 of the standard 12, and the side wings 15, with the end plate 16, form with the bearings 17 both a support for the shaft 18, on which the pulley 13 is fastened, and a casing for the sliding block 22. Aneccentric 19 on the shaft 18 reciprocates this block 22 by means of the strap 20 and the pin 21, this pin entering a perforation in the block 22. This is the preferred means of operating the block; but it will of course be understood that any other mechanical means for producing the same result may be employed. As will be seen from Fig. 2, space can be economized by arranging these cutting devices side by side on either side of a common driving-pulley; but I will describe only'one, as the machines are duplicates.

The plate 11 has a block 23, with the upwardly-extending side plates 23, on the innersides of which are the sliding plates 24, having the slots 25, and pins 26 on the projections 27 of the block 22, working in these slots imparta lateral reciprocating motion to the plates 24.

Pawls28 are pivoted, preferably in pairs, to be described hereinafter, to the inner sides of the blocks 28*, and these blocks are adjustable forward and backward by means of the screws 31 working in a block 32,,secured to the plates 24. A I

Springs 29 can be soldered to the under sides of the pawls 28 and bearing against a pin 31 tend to force the pawls downward to insure their engagement with the stock to be fed. The arrangement of these pawls in relation to the stock is shown in Fig. 7. The prepared stock a, with the projections b, formed by the notches c, is the stock that is to be cut transversely on lines represented as dotted, connecting the edge of one projection with the edge of the next adjacent on the opposed edge of the strip. A long and a short pawl 28 are arranged on either side to engage the projections between the heads and the body of the stock, but in such a way that the short one on one side and a long one on the other are in engagement and the remaining two are resting on the forward edge of the adjacent projection on each side. As the block to which these pawls are attached has a movement sufficient to give a throw to the pawls equal to the width of a splint, the two pawls shown disengaged will engage on the next movement of the block and the opera-.

tion of the feed is assured. It will be obvious that the two long pawls and the two short pawls can be arranged to operatively engage the stock in pairs. A plate 22*, adjustable by means of screws in the slots 22*, is bent at the bottom to press down on the stock to prevent its springing up when the cutting takes place.

A plate 33, fastened to the block 22 by means of the bolts 34, holds a knife 35 in position on the block 22 in line with the edge of the block 23. The plate 33 also has a projecting arm 36, in which a screw 37 is inserted, this screw having a head 38 to bear on a spring 39, that is designed to follow the knife in its descent and force the match cut by the descent into a chute, to be described hereinafter.

The spring-plate 39 is fastened to the block 40, and this block is secured to the plate 11 by the screw 41 and the dowel-pin 42. On the front of the block 40 is arranged the matchreceiving chute 43, which is wider than the stock; but the sides 46 converge toward the bottom to bring any matches that happen to be accidentally thrown out of alinement back into place as they pass down. On the top of the chute are arranged springfingers 45, which hold the matches in their descent and steady them. The bent fingers 44 have the bottom of their free ends arranged to just clear the top of the stock as it is fed forward, and after the cutting is done and the knife 35 and the spring-plate 39 are ascending these hooks or fingers 44 prevent the match from riding up with them, and on the next descent of the knife and spring-plate the arms 39, (see Fig. 6,) which are spread to avoid the fingers 44 and 45, force the match down between the spring-plates 45 and the face of the block 23, so that the matches lie as represented in dotted lines in Fig. 5.

The plate 43 can be slotted to form the spring-fingers 47 and in this way govern the matches until they reach the bottom of the chute,which projects down through the opening 11 in the plate 11, and then emerge to enter the trays 64.

The stock to be out after being notched is rolled with aseparating medium and is shown in Fig. 1 placed on the standard 50, rolled on the block 51. A sprocket-chain 48 communicates motion by means of sprocketwheels from the main shaft 18 to the shaft 49, which is in bearings on the standard 49. When the machine is started, the shaft 49 revolves and carries a device, as 52, for winding the separating medium 67 as it emerges from the roll of prepared stock, and thereby slowly unrolls the roll of stock 66 and feeds it along a table until it is taken up by the pawls 28. An eccentric 53 on the shaft 49 by means of a rod 54 rocks an arm 55, in which it is adjustable, to actuate the pawl 56 and intermittently operate the ratchet 57 on the shaft 59, and anysuitable latch 58 can be used to throw the pawl in and out of engagement with the ratchet. A pulley 60 on this end of the machine andapulley 62 on theshaft 61on the cutting end are adapted to rotate a belt 63, on which the trays 64 are placed and fed underneath the cutting mechanism to receive the matches. The belt has suitable slips 63 to propel the trays and insure their advancement.

-The front pulley 62 is adjustable vertically,

and this adjustment can be accomplished by means of the rod 69, supporting the shaft and pulley, which is pivoted by means of a bolt 68 and is adjustably secured through a slotted arm 70, through the slot of which a bolt can be passed to lock it. This adjustment might be necessary when it is desired to fill trays of an unusual depth or to bring fiat trays up close to the chute 43.

In Fig. 8 I show ameans of filling the trays without the chute 43, in which construction the trays are run close up to the cutting device, and a shield 71 prevents the matches from flying or being thrown away from the trays; but the cutting is not usually accompanied by this, as the cutting is easy and the matches fall down into the tray, and as the trays are slowly advancing they are filled from end to end.

As shown in Fig. 2, a bar 73 can be secured to the block 22 and an arm 72 can be adjustably secured therein to be bent to come up under the upper part of the belt 63, and as the machine operates the belt, with the trays, is vibrated, so that the matches in the trays will be shaken to cause them all to lie transversely in the trays.

I have thus devised a machine cutting and boxing matches that is simple and economical and that feeds the matches directly to the trays to receive them and at the same time advances the trays as they are being filled.

The machine parts are all of construction that requires little movement, as the strokes of all the parts are short, and in this way a very high speed is attained, and the production of matches is correspondingly large.

While I have shown a tray-carrying belt to receive the matches as they fall from the knife, it will be understood that any suitable receiving device moving beneath the matchcutting mechanism and adapted to receive the loose matches as they are delivered from the said mechanism can be substituted for the specific device shown.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters I Patent, is-

1. A machine for making matches, comprising a cutting mechanism adapted to cut successive matches from a strip of veneer, said strip having notches in its opposed edges, feeding mechanism for feeding the veneer by engaging the notches in its edges, said feeding mechanism consisting of pawls adapted to engage the notches, means for actuating said pawls from the cutting mechanism, a tray-supporting device to hold the trays to receive the matches, a chute to conduct the matches to the trays, a delaying device in said chute, and means for forcing the matches through the chute.

2. A machine for making matches, comprising a reciprocating knife, adapted to cut successive matches from a strip of veneer, a pair of sliding plates, one 011 each side of the knife and having a slot, pins on the cutting mechanism to enter the slots and actuate the plates, pawls on the aforesaid sliding plates to feed the strip of veneer, said strip having notches in its opposed edges, the pawls on the same side engaging alternately, a tray supporting and feeding device to hold the trays to receive the matches, and means for conducting the matches to the trays. v

3. A machine for making matches, com prising a cutting mechanism to cut successive matches from a strip of veneer, a tray-supporting device to hold the trays to receive the matches, a chute to conduct the matches to the trays, said chute consisting of downwardly-converging side pieces, spring-arms to delay the matches, and a plate actuated by the cutting mechanism to engage the uppermost match and force the matches through the chute.

4. A machine for making matches, comprising a cutting mechanism to cut successive matches from a strip of veneer, a feeding mechanism for feeding the strip of veneer, a tray-supporting device to hold the trays to receive the matches, a chute to conduct the matches to the trays, said chute consisting of downwardly-converging side pieces, springarms to delay the matches, fingers arranged at the top of the chute to prevent an upward movement of the matches, a spring-plate arranged to engage the cutting mechanism and adapted to engage the uppermost match at each cut and force the matches through the chute.

5. In a-match-machine, a cutting mechanism adapted to cut successive matches from a strip of veneer, an intermittent feeding mechanism in proximity to the cutting mechanism, a support for a roll consisting of an interwinding of veneer and a separating medium, a continuous winding apparatus to roll up the separating medium and thereby unroll the prepared roll and continuously feed the veneer to the intermittent feeding mechanism, a tray-supporting and feeding device to hold the trays to receive the matches, and a chute to conduct the matches from the cutting mechanism to the trays.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my. hand to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM H. PARKER.

In presence of W. B. HUTOHINSON, J. G. DUNBAR. 

